by KSY
Jaqueline was ready to continue with the auction. “This is one of the best items for today’s auction. This is an egg of a Dragon-serpent that has bloodlines of two Tyrannical existences: Asura Dragon and Heaven Devouring Serpent. This Dragon-serpent is a Dual Attribute Elemental Beast. One of his attributes is Fire, and the other is Death. Both bloodlines are of mid-grade bloodline purity. This egg was acquired by an Elder of the Divine Martial Sect from Dragon Valley. I know most of you know about that place, as it is considered as the heaven for Dragon kind. Countless dragons and dragon hybrids live there. Even the current Dragon King of our world is living there,” she said, and looked around at everyone’s faces.
Then Jacqueline went on. “I will be quite frank with you. This dragon has rejected even the most talented disciples of the Divine Martial Sect who have tried to form an Equal contract with it, so making an Equal contract with it is next to impossible. A Martial Artist could only form a Master-slave contract with it, or use to make a Dragon Physique pill,” she explained.
“I am sure that many young Masters wish for a Tyrannical physique. If they possess one, their futures will be limitless. Since ancient times, the people at the helm of Grandura have all possessed Special physiques,” Jacqueline said with a sly smile, as she was trying to bait the factions to go all out for the Dragon-serpent egg.
Jacqueline knew that most factions wouldn’t be able to pass up this egg, as it could be used to make a Dragon Physique pill. She also knew some of the top talents of those factions under the Divine Martial Sect had dragon-type Martial Spirits. Those top talents were future pillars of their factions, so to nurture them properly, those Family Clans would go all out, as getting a dragon egg of a higher species of dragon wasn’t easy at all.
“The bidding will start at fifty thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” Jacqueline announced.
“Fifty-one thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” a person from Booth Number 10 placed his bid.
“One hundred thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” another person increased the bid.
“One hundred ten thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” the bid was once again increased. The bids for the Dragon-serpent egg were only being placed by people who had private booths. People without background simply could not compete with them. The bids kept on increasing until they reached half a million Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones.
“One million Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” Ryan placed his bid. This was Ryan’s first bid for the Dragon-serpent egg but it also made the Auction House go silent. Everyone looked at his booth with unblinking eyes and there was much speculation about Ryan’s identity. Jacqueline was also shocked at the sudden increase in the bid by such a large margin. She gave a deep look towards Ryan’s booth. It was unknown what she was thinking.
All the Immortals who’d been bidding with great passion suddenly felt their hearts crushing. They were angry with Ryan, as he had placed a bid that was higher than the actual value of the Dragon-serpent egg. Its maximum value was nine hundred Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones, but many were hesitant to bid further as they were certain that Ryan would increase his bid again. Many factions decided to give up on the Dragon-serpent egg, but some contacted their respective factions, and after getting their permission decided to bid higher than Ryan.
“Eleven hundred thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” an Immortal placed a bid as he looked intently towards Ryan’s booth. This was the highest bid his Family Clan could place for the Dragon-serpent egg. His Family Clan wished to turn the Dragon-serpent into the Guardian beast of their Family Clan. Some Immortals who were thinking of placing a bid gave up after hearing that.
“Twelve hundred Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” Ryan again increased his bid. After this bid from Ryan, all the Immortals gave up immediately. They could tell that Ryan had no intention of giving up on the Dragon-serpent egg and they had no idea how deep his pockets really were.
Jacqueline declared Ryan’s bid as the winning bid after seeing that no one was trying to offer a bid higher than Ryan’s. She congratulated him on gaining a powerful Soul beast.
The competition amongst the different factions under the Divine Martial Sect is insanely tense and tough and they never allow their competitors to gain anything extra. A descendant with Dragon Physique was every faction’s wish. Since they were unable to acquire the Dragon-serpent egg themselves, they might very well destroy it, to avoid the emergence of a strong Martial Artist from a rival faction. Neither could they accept any of their competitors gaining a powerful guardian beast.
They immediately started to investigate the identity of the young boy in Booth Number 5 but were unable to get even a little information about Ryan. The Auction House had made sure that any information regarding Ryan didn’t get leaked. They didn’t wish for a member of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan to get targeted by any factions under the Divine Martial Sect. If something like that happened, then the relationship between the Divine Martial Sect and the Heaven Sundering Family Clan would get affected.
“We still have one more item left for today’s auction. This item is an Immortal Plant Spirit called Viper’s touch. It can increase the insights and understanding of an Immortal Poison Martial Artist into Poison Elemental Laws exponentially. I am sure many esteemed seniors would wish to get their hands on this Immortal Plant Spirit, which is very rare. The bidding of the Immortal Plant Spirit will start from fifty thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” Jacqueline said as she gave a light smile.
An attendant pushed the trolley onto the stage. The Immortal Plant Spirit was sealed inside a glass box placed on it. The Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit looked like a miniature young man with wings on his back. To be precise, it looked like a little pixie about ten centimeters in height. Mortal Plant spirits after evolving into Immortal Plant Spirits take Humanoid form. The Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit was striking the box with its full might but nothing happened to the glass box, as it had very weak bodily toughness and strength.
Dargar who had been in a deep Cultivation state woke up all of a sudden, the reason being the Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit.
“Ryan, you have to get that Viper’s Touch Plant Spirit – no matter what the cost,” Dargar said frantically, after Yama informed him where exactly they were.
“OK,” Ryan readily agreed, as he could tell that the Viper’s Touch Plant Spirit was supremely important for Dargar. He had never seen Dargar behave like that before.
“Two hundred thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” Ryan placed his bid. The moment Ryan placed a bid many people frowned. Ryan had already gotten his hands on the Dragon-serpent egg and now he was eyeing the Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit as well! One Immortal Realm Poison Martial Artist was unable to control his anger. He wanted the Immortal Plant Spirit for breaking through his own bottleneck.
A bottleneck is situation where a Martial Artist is unable to breakthrough his or her limits for a long time. Once a Martial Artist suffers from a bottleneck then his or her Cultivation Level won’t advance any further. The only way he or she can advance further in the Martial Path is by overcoming his or her body’s limitations, the bottleneck. Overcoming a bottleneck can be done in many ways. Absorbing the essence of Plant spirits is one of them.
“Boy, you have already acquired the Dragon-serpent egg and now you are eyeing the Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit. You are a just Mortal Realm Martial Artist. You won’t be able use this Immortal Plant Spirit for who knows how long. I am in urgent need of this Immortal Plant Spirit now,” the Immortal Realm Martial Artist said with anger, as Killing intent leaked out of his body.
“Elder, I am purchasing this Immortal Plant Spirit for someone else, not myself. That person is more than capable of using it,” Ryan said in a calm voice, but his words made it clear that he w
ouldn’t back off just because of the threat. The Immortal Realm Martial Artist was about to erupt with anger, but he was quickly rebuked by Jacqueline into silence.
“Senior, you are not supposed to threaten anyone inside the Auction House. If you are found doing it again, then you will be banned from entering the Auction House forever,” Jacqueline said, as she warned the Immortal Realm Martial Artist.
It was against the rules of the Auction House to use threats to gain an item. This was an iron-clad rule, so the Immortal Realm Martial Artist’s face flinched upon hearing Jacqueline’s words, as he knew what she said was not an empty threat. The Auction House had done so in past without even blinking an eye. He looked at Ryan’s booth with hatred.
“I need to know the identity of the boy in Booth Number 5,” the Immortal said to other people sitting along with him in his booth. They nodded their heads and left the private booth to collect information regarding Ryan. He’d already decided to pay back Ryan for the humiliation he’d faced that day, even if the latter did belong to a powerful faction.
“Is there anyone else who wants to bid for the Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit or should I declare the earlier bid the winner?” Jacqueline said with an irritated expression. She hated such disruptions.
“Three hundred thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” one Immortal Realm Martial Artist placed a bid.
“Eight hundred thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” Ryan immediately increased the bid by a large margin. Many people cursed their luck for meeting someone as rich as Ryan during the auction.
Soon the auction ended with Ryan obtaining the Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit for one million Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones. All the people in the Auction House were looking at Booth Number 5 with incredulous expressions. They didn’t know what to say – they’d never expected that a young boy would take away both the star items from the day’s auction.
All the factions that had participated in the auction quickly mobilized their spies to gather information about the boy in Booth Number 5 but no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to find out anything about Ryan.
They wished to take the Dragon-serpent egg and Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit by force. Soon these factions received a directive from the Divine Martial Sect not to investigate or create any sort of trouble for the young boy who’d occupied Booth Number 5 during the auction. This made many factions livid, but since the directive was from the Divine Martial Sect, they had no choice but to give up on the Dragon-serpent egg and Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit.
Once the auction ended, Ryan immediately left for the Martial Pavilion after collecting the things he’d purchased. The people of the Auction House were kind enough to show him an alternative exit from the Auction House, which opened up at the other end of Main Street.
The Entrance Ceremony for the Divine Martial Sect and the Marathon were in another three days. Ryan wished to form an Equal contract with the Dragon-serpent before then.
He stopped by a store that sold Elemental Beasts and things related to them while on his way back to the Martial Pavilion. He wished to purchase a Beast pouch. Elemental Beasts can have colossal sizes which, in turn, makes it difficult for Martial Artists to take them along with them. A Beast pouch just like a Spatial pouch is a low-grade Spatial attribute Mortal artifact which allows Martial Artists to put their Soul beasts into the Beast pouch so they can have their Soul beasts with them at all times.
The store had many eggs and young ones of various species of Elemental Beasts. The eggs were placed in shelves while the young ones were kept in small cages. All the Elemental Beasts here were Normal Elemental Beasts. Ryan looked around the shop for some time until he saw an attendant approaching him.
Most Soul beast stores keep young Elemental Beasts, as the chances of someone forming an Equal contract with one of them is higher than with adult Elemental Beasts. For this reason, every Martial Artist seeks a young Elemental Beast for forming an Equal contract with.
Young Elemental Beasts with a normal bloodline lack intelligence at that stage and are easy to fool. But the same is not true for Elemental Beasts with the bloodline of an Ancient or Divine Elemental Beast, or the descendants of Divine and Ancient Elemental Beasts, as they have inherent memories. They have, by birth, a general understanding of the world, so they can’t be fooled.
“Young Master, what do you seek?” the shop attendant asked with the utmost respect.
“I wish to purchase a Beast pouch. Could show me the best ones?” Ryan asked in a polite manner.
“Young Master, please follow me,” the Shop attendant said as he took Ryan to the second floor of the shop.
The quality of the Elemental Beasts as well the products related to the Elemental Beasts went up by a whole level on the second floor. This floor even had various kinds of pills that could trigger a mutation in a Normal Elemental Beast.
As Ryan was checking out things on the second floor, his gaze landed on a big jar. The jar was transparent, so its contents were visible. It contained a swarm of Evil spirits swirling inside the jar. They were pitch-black in color and had green eyes. They were entirely made of energy and looked like flying skulls from Humanoids and Elemental Beasts.
Evil spirits hunt in groups and suck the life force out of their victims. They are one of the weakest kinds of Undead creatures. They have no resistance towards Life and Light Attribute attacks and perish immediately upon making contact with either of them.
“What’s the price of those Evil spirits?” Ryan asked.
“It’s fifty thousand Primary attribute low-grade Elemental stones. Does young Master wish to purchase them?” the attendant asked politely.
“What’s the chance of an Evil spirit evolving into a wraith?” Ryan asked the attendant, as he looked at the jar full of Evil spirits. Wraiths are an evolved form of Evil spirits and are quite powerful among Death Attribute beings. Unlike Evil spirits, they have an markedly high resistance towards Life and Light Attribute attacks.
“All Evil spirits can evolve into wraiths, but they require large quantities of resources. Even Ancestor Level Martial Artists avoid using such a method to get wraiths. If you wish to get wraiths, it is best to go to a Death Attribute Treasure Land, as the Wraiths found in Death lands are wraiths from the start,” the attendant said to Ryan.
But he had more to say on the matter. “All Undead creatures are born after the death of living beings. The strength and powers of the living beings, while they were alive, determines the type of undead they are reborn as. Wraiths found in nature once used to be powerful Elemental Beasts or Martial Artists, unlike Evil spirits who used to be weak Elemental Beasts or Martial Artists,” the attendant further explained anxiously, as he was scared that Ryan might not purchase the Evil spirits.
“I would like to purchase them,” Ryan said to the attendant. A smile appeared on the face of the attendant as he quickly handed over the jar of Evil spirits to Ryan. Ryan kept the jar inside his Spatial pouch as he followed the shop attendant to check out Beast pouches.
One part of the second floor was filled with rows of shelves containing Beast pouches, some of which were highly decorative and some of which had a simple look. The shop attendant stopped in front of the shelves and asked, “What is the attribute of your Soul Beast?”
“Death and Fire,” Ryan replied. The shop attendant nodded his head as he went to the back of the row of shelves. He came back to Ryan with a fist-sized pouch. The pouch had Aura of Death and Fire emanating from it.
“This Beast pouch should be able to satisfy you. This pouch could be used by your Soul beast even when it has become an Immortal beast. It is made from special materials which erase the presence of the Soul beast inside it. This will allow you to carry your Soul beast around without alerting other people. Even the Soul-senses of powerful Martial Artists can’t probe it and identity the species of the Soul beast,” the shop attendant explained.
&
nbsp; “How much does it cost?” Ryan asked after hearing the pouch’s specifications.
“Two thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” The shop attendant said.
“I will take it,” Ryan said as he took the Beast pouch from the shop attendant’s hands and placed it inside his Spatial pouch.
Ryan left for the Martial Pavilion after making the payment for his purchases.
Ch12
After coming back to the Cultivation chamber Ryan took the glass boxes containing the Dragon-serpent egg and Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit out from his Spatial pouch and placed them on a table. The Viper’s Touch Immortal Plant Spirit was looking at him intently from inside the glass box with a nervous and fearful expression.
Ryan removed the seals placed on the glass box containing the Dragon-serpent egg to open it. The moment the glass box was opened the black aura that had been swirling around the Dragon-serpent egg quickly spread throughout the Cultivation chamber. The aura was quite vicious and would attack the mind and soul of any being with a Cultivation Level lower than that of Mortal King Realm, if it made contact with it, but the aura had no effect on Ryan.
The process of forming an Equal contract with an Elemental Beast was quite simple. All it required was for the Martial Artist to drop a few drops of his or her blood on the Elemental Beast. Elemental Beasts can gauge the strength of the Martial Spirits possessed by the Martial Artist from the blood. If the Elemental Beast absorbs the blood drops, then it means that it has accepted the Martial Artist as its partner, and that the formation of the Equal contract between them has begun. A Soul-link is formed between them, and soon afterwards, they can then use it to communicate and exchange energy with each other.
Ryan took a deep breath. He was truly nervous, even though Yama and Earl had told him not to be, as he would be able to form an Equal contract with the Dragon-serpent for sure, because he had an Asura Martial Spirit. An Asura Martial Spirit was capable of increasing the bloodline purity of the Dragon-serpent as the latter possessed the bloodline of an Aura Dragon, so the Dragon-serpent wouldn’t be able to pass up such a temptation, as it was not easy for Elemental Beasts to increase their bloodline purity. They needed to devour countless Heavenly Treasures otherwise, and finding Heavenly Treasures was not easy as most Heavenly Treasures got monopolized by powerful beings and factions the moment they were birthed by nature.
